May 30, 2018 Donate Today
DENVER - The University of Denver men's club rugby team became DU's first club program to establish an endowment fund with a $40,000 base contribution from a core group of alumni.
The goal for the endowment is to reach a $1,000,000 minimum fund within the coming years to offset some of the program's annual expenses such as travel, support staff, equipment and yearly events for student-athletes, alumni, family and friends.
Since its inception in 1968, DU men's club rugby has established a tradition of success and boasted recent accomplishments including final four qualifications in 2013 and 2014 and Cowboy Cup championships in four of the last five years. DU, which plays in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Conference, is currently ranked among the top-15 programs by the National Small College Rugby Association Organization (NSCRO) and has been nationally ranked among the top-30 programs in each of the last five years.
"We are really humbled that our alumni have chosen to invest in an endowment for the rugby program. This shows what both the rugby program meant to them when they were a student at DU and the continued engagement and networking we have with our alumni," DU men's club rugby coach and Associate Vice Chancellor for Recreation and Ritchie Center Operations Stu Halsall said. "Getting the endowment launched is a major step in the right direction for the DU Rugby program as it now allows our alumni, parents and friends to make an investment in the club which will help for generations to come and move the club to a new level in terms of how it can operate. On behalf of the club, we thank all of our alumni who made the start of this endowment a reality. It is greatly appreciated."
Donors will have the opportunity to give to the Club Rugby Endowment Fund, Coach Endowment Fund and Scholarship Fund to help the program recruit, retain and support student-athletes. DU will match scholarship donations at 50%.
DU men's club rugby recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary Weekend in May with an alumni touch rugby game, a match against the current student-athletes and the 50th Anniversary Banquet with the presentation of annual awards for the men's and women's programs.
For information on how to contribute to the endowment fund, contact Stu Halsall (stuart.halsall@du.edu) or Aimee Mandolini (aimee.mandolini@du.edu).
